Webguy's Blog

Powered Flight

The Powered Flight Program started back in 1974 and until 2012 it only saw small changes in flight paths. In 2012, because of airspace conflicts there was a complete redesign of USAFA's airspace and how it was structured. From there, the Air Force and the FAA coordinated and created the "safest possible approaches, departures, training areas and flight patterns for USAFA operations," which were finally put into action in early 2013.

Powered Flight is a capstone course that serves as a culmination of a cadet’s aviation education. Lessons in Air Force heritage and principles of engineering are applied in real-life scenarios during nine flights in a single engine propeller driven aircraft. The training includes ground and flight instruction using T-53s, military instructors provide a basic introduction to Air Force pilot training and the experience of powered flight. Based on proficiency, approximately 50% of these students will solo. The training includes ground and flight instruction under an Air Education and Training Command (AETC) flying syllabus.

Over the course of each Go Cadets have roughly 6 Flights they need to complete, unlike previous years this year also has similiar to the academic year M and T day in the form of Blue and Silver Fly days.

We had a tough time catching the first Go of Powered Flight for the Academic Year, not only because of weather but also some other Powered Flight technical issues that you probably already know about if your Cadet was signed up to do Powered Flight so far this semester. We did our best to catch this Go. Below are some of the highlights of the students currently going through Powered Flight. We're hoping to catch the next Go with a bit more ease, pray that the weather is good to us in the coming months!

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